Yankees 4, Indians 0



- following Friday's bench-clearing nonsense the umpires has itchy trigger fingers, and Mitch Talbot ended up getting tossed when his plant foot slipped and he drilled Alex Rodriguez in the leg. He'd allowed just two runs (on two solo home runs) in 5.2 innings to that point.

- Bartolo Colon also left early, but because he came up lame while covering first base. He left after 6.2 shutout innings and a nifty 6:1 K:BB ratio.

- David Robertson pitched 1.1 innings in relief of Colon and struck out four. Cleveland managed three hits off him, but that's still impressive.

- Jack Hannahan and Brett Gardner were the only guys in the game to record more than one hit.

- Curtis Granderson tied Jose Bautista for the major league homer lead with his 20th.

W: Colon (5-3) HR: Rodriguez (13), Granderson (20), Mark Teixeira (19) CS: Gardner 2 (9), Jorge Posada (2)





Red Sox 16, Blue Jays 4



- Jays pitching was just lousy all day. Brandon Morrow got hammered for nine runs on 10 hits and three walks over 4.1 ininngs, while Jason Frasor and Casey Janssen each gave up three runs in just two-thirds of an inning. Their best hurler might have been Mike McCoy, who mopped up the game with a perfect top of the ninth.

- David Ortiz and Jason Varitek each cranked three-run homers, while Marco Scutaro went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI, and Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI.

- Jed Lowrie went 0-for-5 in the middle of an 18-hit, 16-run attack. He did fall into an RBI by accident though.

- John Lackey actually pitched OK, not that he really needed to. He allowed four runs on six hits in six innings with an 8:2 K:BB ratio.

W: Lackey (4-5) HR: Varitek (3), Ortiz (16), Edwin Encarnacion (2)





Phillies 7, Cubs 1



- this one looked like it was going to be a pitcher's duel for a while. Cliff Lee allowed just one run on four hits and a walk over eight innings with seven K's, while Matt Garza gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks over six innings with four K's. Once Garza left though, the Phillies bats had their way with Sean Marshall and Casey Coleman.

- Shane Victorina went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI, while Chase Utley went 2-for-5 with a double, home run and four RBI. Utley's heating up, going 8-for-25 over his last six games.

- Darwin Barney was the only Cubs hitter to really show up, going 2-for-4. He's got four multi-hit games in his last seven, but went ohfer the other three.

W: Lee (6-5) HR: Utley (2)





Reds 10, Giants 2



- Tim Lincecum struck out the first batter he faced, Drew Stubbs, and that was pretty much the high point of his day. He got chased after four innings, getting tagged for seven runs on seven hits and four walks with just that one K. His June has been miserable so far (9.39 ERA in three starts) but his overall numbers on the season are still very Timmeh-like, so unless he's hiding an injury there's nothing to get too worried about yet.

- Mike Leake was the one looking like a perennial Cy Young candidate, cruising through eight shutout innings and giving up just four hits with an 8:1 K:BB ratio. In four starts since being called back up, Leake has a 1.93 ERA and a 16:5 K:BB ratio in 28 innings.

- the Reds shared the offensive load. Four guys had multi-hit days (including Leake, who went 2-for-4 and is now hitting .315/.367/.356 in his brief major league career). Ryan Hanigan migt have had the best day, going 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI.

- Pat Burrell hit a meaningless two-run home run in the ninth to give the Giants their only offense.

W: Leake (6-2) HR: Burrell (6) SB: Jay Bruce (5) CS: Fred Lewis (2)





Twins 8, Rangers 1



- Scott Baker dominated, going the distance and giving up just five hits with a 7:0 K:BB ratio.

- Colby Lewis, uhh, didn't, getting stung for six runs on seven hits in just 1.1 innings.

- Ben Revere continues to look like a legitimate leadoff hitter, going 2-for-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored.

- Delmon Young's June renaissance continues, as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI. He's now hitting .341/.356/.477 since putting May in his rear view. Alexi Casilla also went 3-for-4 with a steal, two runs scored and an RBI, and is hitting .343 over his last eight games.

W: Baker (4-4) SB: Revere (5), Casilla (9)





Braves 6, Astros 3 (10 innings)



- Brian McCann decided this one with a three-run blast off Brandon Lyon in the top of the 10th. Lyon faced four batters and didn't retire any of them, seeing his ERA soar to 10.22 in the process. Good thing the Astros brought him back off the DL, huh?

- the two young starters did pretty well. Mike Minor lasted six innings and gave up two runs on four hits with a 4;2 K:BB ratio, while Jordan Lyles topped him by one out, allowing two runs on eight hits with a 5:2 K:BB ratio.

- Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to 22 games by going 2-for-5 with a couple of doubles.

W: Scott Linebrink (2-1) HR: Eric Hinske (8), McCann (8) SB: Jordan schafer (6), Jason Bourgeois (15) CS: Matt Young (1)





Pirates 3, Mets 2



- James McDonald didn't have his best stuff but got away with it, getting touched for just two runs on eight hits and three walks over six innings, striking out two.

- R.A. Dickey took a complete game loss, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four.

- the top three batters for the Mets (Jose Reyes, Ruben Tejada and Carlos Beltran) each collected two hits, for all the good it did them.

- Brandon Wood got the start at shortstop and went 1-for-3 without striking out. In fact he's gone 9-for his last-25 with only three K's. Of course he hasn't drawn a walk over that stretch, but at least it's a flicker of life.

- Josh Harrison went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a steal, and is hitting .300 (12-for-40) in his first 10 major league games. He's got no power and doesn't draw walks, but should be fine holding down the fort at third base until Pedro Alvarez is back, and be a nifty bench player after that.

W: McDonald (4-4) SV: Joel Hanrahan (16) SB: Daniel Murphy (4), Beltran (1), Harrison (1) CS: Reyes (5)





Tigers 8, Mariners 1



- Max Scherzer stifled the M's over seven innings, giving up one run on four ihts and two walks with four K's.

- Michael Pineda had his worst start in the majors so far, getting tagged for six runs (five earned) on eight hits over 5.1 innings, although he still had a solid 4:1 K:BB ratio.

- Austin Jackson and Victor Martinez each had three hits, two RBI and a run scored. Brennan Boesch also went 3-for-4 but only had two runs scored to show for it.

- Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4 and he tries to pull out of his death spiral. Suzuki's hitting just .167/.205/.262 in June after a .210/.270/.238 May.

W: Scherzer (8-2) HR: Jhonny Peralta (9)





Rays 7, Orioles 5 (11 innings)



- Ben Zobrist was a one-man wrecking crew in this one, going 4-for-6 with four runs scored and an RBI. All four hits went for extra-bases (three doubles and a triple).

- Evan Longoria and Casey Kotchman were the guys cashing on Zobrist, as Longoria went 3-for-5 with three RBI and Kotchman went 4-for-6 with two RBI.

- Mark Reynolds did his best to keep Baltimore in the game, going 2-for-5 with two home runs. Reynolds has gone 8-for-24 over his last seven games to finally get batting average on the season over .200. Matt Wieters also had a good game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored.

- neither starting pitcher did anything special. David Price gave up four runs in six innings with a 6:1 K:BB ratio, serving up both of Reynolds' blasts, while Jeremy Guthrie eked out a quality start by allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings.

W: Juan Cruz (4-0) SV: Kyle Farnsworth (14) HR: Reynolds 2 (12) SB: Luke Scott (1)





Diamondbacks 9, Marlins 5



- once again Javier Vazquez proved to be the cure for an ailing offense, getting roughed up for seven runs on seven hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings, while striking out six. Among all pitchers who qualify for the ERA title, Vazquez's 7.09 ERA is the worst in the majors by more than a full run (Ryan Dempster, the next-worst, sits at 5.96).

- every D-backs starting position player got at least one hit, with Ryan Roberts and Stephen Drew each popping solo shots.

- Ian Kennedy wasn't great but hung around long enough to get the win, allowing five runs on eight hits (including three Marlins' homers) in eight innings. His 9:1 K:BB ratio was stellar, however.

- Chris Coghlan hit his first homer since mid-April for Florida, as he tried to get back on track. He's now slashing .275/.348/.450 in June, but he's capable of better.

- Mike Stanton hit his first homer since yesterday, which was his first since the day before yesterday. Heading into this series Arizona's advance scout described Stanton as having "Herman Munster power" in his report, referencing a Munsters episode where Herman knocked down a stadium scoreboard with a blast. "Herman Munster power" is presumably the next level above "Roy Hobbs power" but slightly below "Superman power", where you can actually put a ball into orbit.

W: Kennedy (7-2) HR: Roberts (9), Drew (4), Coghlan (5), Gaby Sanchez (11), Stanton (16) SB: Chris Young 2 (8)





White Sox 3, A's 2



- Gio Gonzalez couldn't find the strike zone with a map, a GPS, a radar installation and a pack of bloodhounds, walking seven batters in 5.2 innings while also chucking two wild pitches and hitting a batter. That he managed to only get charged with three runs (two earned, even) is something of a minor miracle.

- John Danks experienced a minor miracle of his own. He got the win after allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with four K's, but would probably have taken the loss if not for Brent Lillibridge robbing Coco Crisp of a two-run home run on the last pitch Danks threw.

- Jesse Crain picked up a four-out save, his first of the season, to give the rest of the bullpen a breather.

- Alexis Rios was the only guy on either team to have a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk.

W: Danks (2-8) SV: Crain (1) HR: Ramon Castro (3) SB: Cliff Pennington (6), Carlos Quentin (1), Lillibridge (6), Alexei Ramirez (3) CS: Jemile Weeks (1)





Brewers 5, Cardinals 3



- this wasn't quite the pitcher's duel it could have been. Zack Greinke was fine, giving up three runs in seven innings with a sharp 9:0 K:BB ratio, but Chris Carpenter got tagged for five runs in six innings.

- Rickie Weeks carried the big stick for the Brewers, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer.

- John Axford struck out two in a perfect ninth to collect the save, making it nine straight appearances for him without allowing a run.

W: Greinke (6-1) SV: Axford (17) HR: Lance Berkman (16), Prince Fielder (18), Weeks (12)





Dodgers 11, Rockies 7



- humidor schumidor. This was old school Coors baseball at its best, as the two offenses combined for 31 hits. Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles went 8-for-9 between them, and nine different hitters had multi-hit games.

- there might have been more damage done, but the game ended up a great diving catch by Tony Gwynn Jr. that robbed Charlie Blackmon of at least a bases-loaded double.

- Matt Kemp returned to the lineup after missing Friday's game due to a gimpy hamstring, and went 1-for-4 with a double.

- the two starting pitchers actually did OK, as most of the damage came against the bullpens. Ted Lilly allowed just one run in five innings on four hits and two walks, striking out three, while Jason Hammel gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks over five innings, striking out just one.

- the worst offenders among the relievers? Scott Elbert faced three batters in the eighth inning, got none of them out and watched all three come around to score, while Matt Lindstrom got roughed up for four runs on four hits in the ninth inning.

W: Lilly (5-5) HR: Ty Wigginton (6) SB: Lilly (1), Dee Gordon (2), Blackmon (1)





Nationals 2, Padres 1



- Washington manager Jim Riggleman finally realized that maybe having two guys with sub-.300 OBPs at the top of the order might not be conducive to scoring runs, and did some radical re-arranging of the deck chairs on the Nationals offense. Jayson Werth hit leadoff, and Riggleman moved the pitcher's slot up to eighth so that Werth would have a real hitter (well, Brian Bixler at least) in the ninth spot to drive in. It "worked" in the sense that the Nats won the game, but don't expect it to last past Ryan Zimmerman's return to action, which could come as soon as Tuesday.

- Werth, incidentally, went 0-for-4, while Bixler went 2-for-2 with a walk and a steal as a last-minute replacement in left field for Roger Bernadina.

- John Lannan was the reason for the victory, stingily allowing just one run on six hits and two walks over 6.1 frames while striking out one. Lannan's smoke machine and mirrors have been at full effectiveness recently, and he has a 0.68 ERA with a 13:10 K:BB ratio over his last four starts.

- Anthony Rizzo cranked his first big league home run, the only run the Padres managed. Welcome to San Diego, kid.

W: Lannan (4-5) SV: Drew Storen (14) HR: Rizzo (1) SB: Bixler (1), Danny Espinosa (6)





Angels 7, Royals 5



- both starters took turns getting their ERAs bailed out by their defense. Joel Pineiro gave up five runs, but only four earned, in 5.1 innings while Felipe Paulino gave up five runs with only two of them earned over five innings. Paulino at least had a 5:1 K:BB ratio, which is a far sight better than Pineiro's 1:3 ratio.

- Aaron Crow had a rough night, uncorking two wild pitches to bring home a couple of Tim Collins walks and hand the game to Anaheim. Los Angeles. Whatever.

- Jordan Walden learned a big lesson. After giving up two hits on a couple of sliders to make things interesting, he reared back and fired nothing but fastballs at the heart of the Royals order. The result: strikeout of Eric Hosmer, strikeout of Jeff Francoeur, weak flyball by Billy Butler to end the game.

- Mike Moustakas cranked his first major league home run.

- Melky Cabrera went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Vernon Wells and Howie Kendrick also went 3-for-4 for the Angels, with Wells scoring three runs.

W: Scott Downs (4-2) SV: Walden (14) HR: Moustakas (1) SB: Russell Branyan (2), Kendrick (5), Alberto Callaspo (2), Wells (2)